1 A candle in the window
"So few left. Unnumbered billions of stars and these are the meager double handful I'm left with" The commander of the fleet voiced into the computer. No one else was in the room. The weary and aging leader of the human race was making another entry into his private log. His voice held a decided tone of tired resignation. He was in truth very much like a captain of a besieged garrison who has long given up hope of reinforcements.
" For years now we have fled the pursuing cylon base stars, traveling further out away from the galactic core along our arm of this galaxy. We were left with little choice in our direction, as the empire of machines had lain closer to the core than the colonies. But now we stand here at the feathered edge of the Milky Way, with only a few score of stars left before the endless gulf of inter-galactic space, the true abyss, and still no sign of earth. No signals or ships. No ruins or evidence of any human ever having been in these lonely parsecs of space."
"We keep getting occasional sensor readings of cylon fighters trailing us. I am certain that at least two base stars are closely trailing us. I also have some reason to believe that two or three more are following further back to cut off our escape should we some how manage to double back and elude our nearer pursuers." Adama said. He stopped briefly to take a drink of water and rub his temple.
"They have taken all of my pawns, crushed my bishops and rooks, and now with only a few brave knights left, they have chased my king to the corner of the board. There are no more moves to make, no more gambits to try. There are a few patrols left. Once they return from their scouting of the planets out here I will begin to make plans for a last stand against the cylons. I have little hope of victory or even survival, but there is nothing left to do but to die bravely and make the passing of the human race a dear thing for those damnable machines. I want to be sure that when we are gone that they never forget us and what we were, because when this is all over the only way mankind will survive will be in the mind of our conquerors, an entry in a computer that no being of flesh and blood will likely ever read".
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They almost missed the thing. The moon on which it sat was such a bleak and unassuming thing. Airless and so far from its sun that it existed in eternal twilight, it fell into a deeper darkness only when it's orbit brought it around to the back side of it's larger gas giant parent. It was a rocky terrestrial world and still volcanically active, so it was probably rich in metals, but the harsh conditions of the place would have made the extraction of any valuable resources a hard thing to justify even in peacetime. Now however, with humanity in such dire straights, the little moon held nothing that people were looking for. It was not Earth.
Starbuck was eager to get back to the Galactica. He knew as well as everyone else that time was growing short, and he wanted to spend what time he had left with Cassiopeia and his friends.
"I'm going to drink and make merry, for tomorrow I'm going to die" he had mumbled to himself when he had launched his viper at the beginning of this patrol. It was a half remembered line from some play he had taken a girl to see back before the cylons had destroyed the colonies. He couldn't remember the name of the play. He had never really liked the theater. It seemed to slow and highbrow.
"And besides, it seems like a life and a half ago." He mumbled to himself
"What was that Starbuck?"
"I said 'lets go back'. This whole system is as sterile as a priests cell. What do you say Apollo?"
"There's people I want to get back to too old friend, but I want to check out the third moon of that gas giant before we go".
" What for? It's a rock."
"Take a closer look at your energy readings" Apollo instructed.
Starbuck did as asked. He didn't expect much. The man flying the viper off of his port was his best friend in the universe but they couldn't be more different. As far as he was concerned Apollo was way to uptight. The man nearly defined spit and polished. Every little thing had to be in its place and explained or Apollo would be driven mad by lack of order in his world.
But there was something on his scanners. Beyond the radiation that was being thrown off by the gas giant, besides the half dozen active volcanoes there was evidence of an artificial energy source. It was nearly masked by all the other nearby energy emissions, but it was definitely there and definitely artificial.
"Well I'll be damned" exclaimed Starbuck. "Do you think that it's cylon? Maybe a listening post"?
"It doesn't seem to have the usual signature of a cylon generator. And I also think you could also rule out traders or pirates. There's just no one to sell to or steal from out here."
The universe just wasn't fair. They were all going to be dead in a week or so and he was going to spend valuable time investigating strange energy readings on a barren moon when he could be in bed with Cass drinking some of the good stuff he had stashed away while playing cards with the squadron.
"Well lets get this over with and check it out"'
Twenty minutes later all thoughts of cards were driven from his mind.
" Holy frak!" Exclaimed both viper pilots. There was a hole in the moon spinning below them. Not just a crater, but a hole of perfect shape and cyclopean size. It measure more than a hundred miles across and was rimmed with city-sized machines of unknown purpose. The mechanisms appeared semi-organic. The depths of it were blacker than space and their scanners could not find the bottom. It all spoke of power and technology that never before had been imagined by man.
"It's amazing" Apollo's voice came over the com. "I think I see a place to land, maybe a landing strip and hanger. I'm sending you the co- ordinates."
The thought of descending to that strange and hidden place filled him with unease, but Starbuck would never let his friend take off alone into an unknown situation.
Starbuck sighed. "All right lets go see what we can see. But ah, lets not stick around to long if there's nothing interesting. If I stand Cassy up for this date I may not get a chance to make it up to her.
"I tell you father it was the most amazing thing I've ever seen" Apollo said to Commander Adamma. The fighter pilot was very animated, pacing back in forth. "The entire fleet could fit in this thing".
"But a number of our ships are not designed to land, the larger freighters and the one luxury liner especially. And of course the Galactica is incapable of such a feat. Besides, if you two detected it the cylons would also find it. It would just be a matter of time."
"No, I wasn't saying it was a good place to hide, just that it was huge" the younger man explained. "But the size wasn't the best part. As we approached the landing strip a nearby building scanned us. This ray of light played all over our ships. Starbuck started yelling that we should leave but I told him we didn't seem to be taking any damage so we should go ahead and land."
Starbuck half grinned in his sheepish 'I got my hand caught in a cookie jar' look and started to say something when Adamma cut him off. "No need to apologize captain. Had we been in contact at the time I would have ordered you two away at that moment. Please continue Apollo"
"Well we came in, taxied in to the hanger. When we set down a force field went up behind us and the entire hanger began to pressurize. We got out and looked around but the place was almost totally barren. The only thing in the entire hanger was a large set of what look like double doors at the far end, and a pedestal about ten paces back from the door. Now we couldn't get the doors to budge, but on the pedestal was an indentation that looked just like the medallion you wear around your neck".
The fleet would be here in a day and a half. Tigh had argued against it but Adamma had over ridden him. They were looking for a place to make a last stand, and this system; this moon was as good a place as any. Besides, the coincidence was simply too great. That the ancient symbol of his people should be found in so forlorn a place and not be a sign of hope was impossible. The commander of the fleet tried hard to keep his hopes from overriding his good judgment but he couldn't help but remember another time on another empty world, were amidst the ruins of an ancient human culture his medallion had opened other ancient doors.
With Starbuck and Apollo flanking him, Adamma said a silent prayer as he took the medallion from his neck and placed it in the indentation of the pedestal. 'Lords of Kobal, grant us a miracle in this our hour of greatest need'
The medallion fit perfectly into its niche with a faint 'click'
For a moment nothing happened, then two doors started to open noiselessly. Warm moist air washed into the hanger and a warm yellow light invited them to enter the singular room beyond. Adamma walked slowly forward and the two pilots followed with blasters drawn.
The chamber they entered was a dome of gigantic size, easily the size of a small town. In that great hall were, in ordered rows stretching off to the vanishing point, were potted plants. They all seemed to be of the same type, with broad leaves of deep green and streaks of dark purple. Another commonality was that they all had a flower budding at the zenith of their stalks. The buds seemed about the length of a mans forearm, but none of them were opened. An entire vista on the verge of blooming lay before them.
Set apart from the rest of the foliage, near the door, was a potted plant like the others, but it was positioned as if to greet them.
"What a strange green house" commented Adama. The place had a distinct feeling of peacefulness and welcoming. At the same time there was the hint of extreme age and at the same time, agelessness. Apollo and Starbuck had almost lowered their blasters because they could hear the plants welcoming them. The three men could feel the fear and toil of the last few months melt away.
Smoothly, almost without being noticed at first, the plant nearest the door started to open its flower. It unfurled its complex petals to reveal an orchid of stunning beauty and intricacy. It seemed like some vivid fractal pattern given life. When it was fully opened the flower slowly turned toward Adama.
"Father watch out"! Shouted Apollo, raising his blaster to fire.
"No Apollo, don't "! Yelled Adamma. "It doesn't mean any harm. Its… It's talking to me," the commander said in wonderment.
Then the flower began to glow. At first it was so faint that it was uncertain that it was happening at all, but it quickly gained in brightness till the three men had to shade their eyes to keep from damaging their retinas. The light then exploded silently out ward, washing around and even thru them. At the end it was so bright that the flesh of their hands were insufficient to keep it at bay.
And then…
And then they were standing in a room that was made of light. It was a place that seemed as bright as the light that had blinded them a second before, but now it seemed to only clarify. The distance to the walls were difficult to determine and it was even hard to tell were the floor ended and the wall began.
And then they were no longer alone. The new comer was clothed from head to foot in fine white cloth that shimmered and gave off light like the rest of the place they were in. Only the eyes were visible. Knowing eyes that seemed neither male nor female. It was a person the two fighter pilots had seen before.
"You. I know you! You're one of the people that saved us from Count Iblis!" Starbuck said in a horse whisper.
"I am a memory of that being, a though left behind to help you cross through the gate when you were ready." Said the person of light. Its voice was the voice of dozens of beings all talking at once, yet all talking in perfect harmony. Its voice seemed to bypass the ear and enter the brain by its own secret path.
"You were not meant to go home so soon, but you have had your own shadow to contend with. It has pushed you to this place far before your time." The dizzying voices of the light being intoned.
"Our shadow? You mean the cylons don't you?" asked Adamma. "But you said that this place was built for us? Why? What does it do? Help me to understand, please."
"We watched mankind slowly grow within its cradle, earth. We guided with unseen hands as humanity slowly trod its path, and stood as sentinel against foes that man could not even have guessed at. But we knew that one day the child would have to stand on its own and face the darkness that threatened us all.
"But we thought to our selves, ' What if the men should lose their battle against the shadow?' To insure against this we took some number of you from your home and brought you to this far side of the galaxy. You quickly grew in numbers and spread to nearby planets, becoming the colonies that you call your ancestral homes. We few were left here to watch over as best we could, but our numbers were only a handful and little direct action could be taken." The being seemed to slump a little at this point.
"To late we discovered that the dark foe had learned of our plan and sent their own emissary to thwart us and destroy you. The dark ones took a man from earth at this time. He was person of great guile and even greater ambition. They gave this twisted soul powers that you could not guess at then set him loose upon humanity from time to time for their own brutal purposes. It was this man that the darkness sent to destroy your colonies. It was this agent of evil's hand that guided those that crafted the first cylon intelligence. He saw to it that the machine intelligence was imprinted with his own personality and wit. Yet, so great was his cunning that we did not guess at his being here until the cylons had grown into an empire."
"When the danger was finally espied, it had grown to great for we that remained. When the cylons destroyed the colonies, we sent word to our brethren begging for help, for it seemed that all would be lost in this half of the galaxy. They replied that no helped could be spared, for the long awaited conflict had finally struck. The great war between light and dark that we had been preparing for thousands of years had come and no resources could be spared. The only option left to us was to slowly, quietly guide you and your fleet to this place so that you might find some help among your own people."
"A short time ago the great war came to an end, and in a manner none could have guessed. The Great creator, the father of the children of the light and the dark appeared amidst the battle and gathered his children onto himself and took them beyond the stars of this galaxy to dwell with him in peace and wisdom. He came to us here as well in this far away place. We
could not refuse his call.".
"But fear not. The portal to man kinds birth world remains intact and ready. Fly your fleet into the great rift of this moon. This great hole will be transformed into a gate way to a higher dimension, a place that those on the other side of the galaxy use to transverse the gulf between the stars. Keep your ships close together listen for a beacon. Stay near this beacon and in time someone will come to lead you home. Good luck to you all…. My children.
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A few of the captains had come close to mutiny. The idea of flying a fleet of starships, many thousands of people strong, into some bottomless hole at more than 5 miles a second seemed to be beyond madness. Even those most loyal to Adamma agreed at first, and even they had strong reservations. The others agreed only after being taken on a tour of the instillation on the mysterious moon. There were no other visions from the bizarre orchids. What remained however was sufficiently strange and impressive that the rest of the captains finally relented and agreed to put their trust in the old man. Of course it helped that by this time Adamma had taken on an almost prophet like aura. He was a man of great faith in his religion, had talked with angel like beings now on more than one occasion, and of course he had seen them all through more close shaves than any of them could count.
"Commander, I still have one reservation," intoned the captain of the hydroponics ship. "What's to keep the cylons from using this gateway once we have gone through?"
"The gateway is as much alive as machine. I was assured that the cylons would not be allowed passage. They should not be able to use it without its permission. If they should find a way to actually force the issue the instillation will self-destruct. The point is moot however. After a closed examination of the gateway our scientist believe we lack the firepower to destroy it. We are just going to have to trust to the angels on this"
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Ivanova was bored. It was glorious. No assassination attempts. No alien invasion. No diplomatic Gordian knot to untie, just the simple tedium of a duty shift on the command deck. A entire shift, even an entire day without some harrying emergency?! She allowed herself a little smile. Perhaps she would take a long bath when she was done here, have a glass of wine and finish that book she had been working on.
"Commander, sensors are showing what looks like a fleet of ships preparing to come through the jump gate! The lead ship is more that twice the size of an earth cruiser! Configuration is not recognizable. The gate is moving to maximum separation. Jump gate is active!"
'Oh well, so much for a quiet afternoon.' Thought the commander.
"Scramble all fighters! Station defense grid and weapons on stand by. Comm, I want a channel opened with that lead ship now! And alert the captain. Stay frosty and stay clear everyone. Remember, we beat the Shadows. Everything else is just a walk in the park."
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Captain Sheradin stood in the docking bay awaiting their new visitors. Susan remained on the control deck to keep an eye the rest of this unexpected fleet, but Zak was here with two contingents of security. One of those was in plane view and the other was well hidden among the shipping containers and superstructure. These people hadn't made any aggressive moves, but after the Shadow war it was hard to take anyone at face value.
He had talked to them over the com just an hour ago. Despite their stories strangeness, it did have the ring of truth to it. The Shadows and the Vorlons had waged a war spanning hundreds of thousands, perhaps even millions of years and had used technologies and powers that even now most races failed to understand. They had slowly woven the potential for psychic powers into the DNA of several races over the last few thousand years just in preparation for this last battle.
The Vorlons had secluded an entire human culture on the far side of the galaxy and placed a sign over them that read, "In case of emergency break glass". A damned cold-hearted thing to do as far as he was concerned. At least they had managed to bring their wayward flock home.
The newcomers shuttle settled into place and presently its hatch opened. Out walked three men, one oldster in a black robe trimmed in silver and two more in what appeared to be some sort of military uniform. Mid thirties maybe? Well they seemed human enough.
Now they were closer and the older man was addressing him. "You are Captain Sheridan? Greetings. I am Commander Adama."
Sheridan studied the older mans face a moment before answering. It wasn't just the snow-white hair that made him look old. His face was a series of creases and wrinkles carved as much by care and hardship as age. He could not help but compare his face to a picture of an old American president, Abraham Lincoln.
"Yes, I'm Captain Sheridan."
"And you are of earth?"
"Well we're have something of a disagreement with the current regime back home, but yes, I was born on earth."
The two soldiers let out a great sigh as if they had been holding their breath since leaving their shuttle. They wooped for joy, grabbed each other in a great hug and clapped each other on the back. Their elder grabbed Sheridan's hand in a surprisingly strong handshake. His face was split in a great smile and, yes there was a tear in his eye.
"Captain, we have been looking for someone like you for quite some time. It is very, very good to make your acquaintance!"
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The next few weeks were full of bustle and work. The new arrivals began spending time on the station. A small percentage of people from each of their ships were allowed 'shore leave' for forty-eight hours at a time. Although they were refugees and had left most of their property back on their lost colonies, what they did possess had value simply for its novelty, even if a given item had no other economic value. For a time the economy of the station hummed and small swarm of shuttles buzzed between the fleet and Babylon 5.
Sheridan proposed that Commander Adama settle his people on a planet at the edge of human space. The place had been officially declared an earth colony just prior to the death of president Santiago. Only a small contingent of scientists had ever lived there, and they had been recalled when Clarks dictatorship had begun to clamp down. Because it was inside human space any alien ships that attacked the new arrivals would face the wrath of both earth cruisers as well as the white stars at Sheridan's command. A near earth normal world far enough from the action to be safe but still out of bounds to other races. And best of all, the whole thing would stick in Clarks craw. Sheridan smiled to himself whenever he imagined the shouting fit the little tyrant would have when he heard about it.
The briefing on the newcomers' ships and technology was coming up in ninety minutes. After the technical stuff was out of the way he would ask Adama to join him in freeing earth. His unexpected ships would certainly through off earth dome for a while. He should remind Garibaldi to show about half an hour before hand. The ex-security chief could be late to staff meetings on occasion and if Adama and his colonial warriors were to join him in freeing earth they would need a complete intelligence breakdown of the situation.
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Garibaldi was being lied to. These Colonials kept saying that they had never heard of poker before getting here, yet here was this guy, Starbuck, with a big pile of credits and an even bigger shit-eating grin. It was somehow even more annoying that the fighter pilot managed to sustain said grin while chomping away on a truly noxious smelling cigar. The annoyance's two friends, what were their names?… Jolly and Boomer? They appeared to be breaking even but still managing to have a good time.
Londo was not having a good time. The Ambassador had lost almost as much money as he had but seemed even more upset about it. But then Londo always seemed to use more words than a human would find necessary. He was a man of great ambition, appetites and gestures, but he also a very skilled politician and he could hide his true aims under all that verboseness when he wanted to. Garibaldi knew that Londo enjoyed this type of carousing perhaps even more than most people, but he was a good enough detective to realize that Centari was probably here to learn a little more about these people from the other side of the galaxy.
"Great maker! These cards are cursed. I should have a priest come and exorcise the demons from them. You know Mr. Starbuck," he said wagging a finger "I am having a harder time from one moment to the next believing that you have never heard of poker before twelve days ago." He growled. After scowling at his hand a little longer he finally gave up the ghost. "Bah! I fold"
The Cheshire grin grew a little wider. "What can I say Ambassador? I'm just a naturally quick study when it comes to the finer cultural arts".
Jolly and Boomer chuckled a little. Garibaldi guessed that they had lost a few hands to Starbuck in their own version of cards and were getting some pleasure in seeing someone else take it in the shorts for a change.
While Londo got up to refresh his drink, Starbuck took two cards. The other Viper pilots took three cards each. Garibaldi, the dealer, took two. That meant Boomer and Jolly had started with a pair and were playing the long odds. It was probably down to Starbuck and himself. Still, Lennier…
The Mimbary cocked his head to side, thinking. "I will take one card".
One card? Was his hand that hot or was he just naïve and shooting for the moon? No, not naïve. Lennier wasn't a regular gambler but he wasn't stupid. Still waters running deep and all that. Besides, He had heard about that card game Londo and Lennier had played in the zokolo a while back. It was certain that he was here gathering intelligence on the newcomers just like Londo. But he also had the feeling that Lennier was also here to keep an eye on the Centari Ambassador, make sure that the older man played fair. Garibaldi shivered. Sneaking cards with an ambulatory reproductive organ gave a whole new meaning to the phrase 'dirty cards'.
Raises were made and met. Jolly bowed out. He had gained nothing with his three cards and saw no need to throw money away. "All right boys" he said. "Time to show 'em to the world. Jolly."
"Two pair. Two's and Threes"
Starbuck shifted his cigar in his mouth, his smirk working around the smoldering weed. "Three of a kind" he said laying out three nines.
Finally Garibaldi had something to smile about. "Three ladies".
All eyes turned to Lennier. "I have five cards of successive denominations, a straight"
Starbuck removed his cigar for the first time in several minutes as he frowned at his cards. Finally betrayed by lady luck. Londo chuckled softly.
The roguish Viper pilot quickly rebounded. "Well Ambassador, I guess that just can't win them all eh?"
"Yes, yes." Londo nodded, half mocking and half sage. "This I have learned all to well"
Garibaldi's Comm beeped at him. A reminder that he had 20 minuets to get to the briefing. "Well gentlemen, its been a slice but I've got a revolution to go help plan. See you all later"
"So few left. Unnumbered billions of stars and these are the meager double handful I'm left with" The commander of the fleet voiced into the computer. No one else was in the room. The weary and aging leader of the human race was making another entry into his private log. His voice held a decided tone of tired resignation. He was in truth very much like a captain of a besieged garrison who has long given up hope of reinforcements.
" For years now we have fled the pursuing cylon base stars, traveling further out away from the galactic core along our arm of this galaxy. We were left with little choice in our direction, as the empire of machines had lain closer to the core than the colonies. But now we stand here at the feathered edge of the Milky Way, with only a few score of stars left before the endless gulf of inter-galactic space, the true abyss, and still no sign of earth. No signals or ships. No ruins or evidence of any human ever having been in these lonely parsecs of space."
"We keep getting occasional sensor readings of cylon fighters trailing us. I am certain that at least two base stars are closely trailing us. I also have some reason to believe that two or three more are following further back to cut off our escape should we some how manage to double back and elude our nearer pursuers." Adama said. He stopped briefly to take a drink of water and rub his temple.
"They have taken all of my pawns, crushed my bishops and rooks, and now with only a few brave knights left, they have chased my king to the corner of the board. There are no more moves to make, no more gambits to try. There are a few patrols left. Once they return from their scouting of the planets out here I will begin to make plans for a last stand against the cylons. I have little hope of victory or even survival, but there is nothing left to do but to die bravely and make the passing of the human race a dear thing for those damnable machines. I want to be sure that when we are gone that they never forget us and what we were, because when this is all over the only way mankind will survive will be in the mind of our conquerors, an entry in a computer that no being of flesh and blood will likely ever read".
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They almost missed the thing. The moon on which it sat was such a bleak and unassuming thing. Airless and so far from its sun that it existed in eternal twilight, it fell into a deeper darkness only when it's orbit brought it around to the back side of it's larger gas giant parent. It was a rocky terrestrial world and still volcanically active, so it was probably rich in metals, but the harsh conditions of the place would have made the extraction of any valuable resources a hard thing to justify even in peacetime. Now however, with humanity in such dire straights, the little moon held nothing that people were looking for. It was not Earth.
Starbuck was eager to get back to the Galactica. He knew as well as everyone else that time was growing short, and he wanted to spend what time he had left with Cassiopeia and his friends.
"I'm going to drink and make merry, for tomorrow I'm going to die" he had mumbled to himself when he had launched his viper at the beginning of this patrol. It was a half remembered line from some play he had taken a girl to see back before the cylons had destroyed the colonies. He couldn't remember the name of the play. He had never really liked the theater. It seemed to slow and highbrow.
"And besides, it seems like a life and a half ago." He mumbled to himself
"What was that Starbuck?"
"I said 'lets go back'. This whole system is as sterile as a priests cell. What do you say Apollo?"
"There's people I want to get back to too old friend, but I want to check out the third moon of that gas giant before we go".
" What for? It's a rock."
"Take a closer look at your energy readings" Apollo instructed.
Starbuck did as asked. He didn't expect much. The man flying the viper off of his port was his best friend in the universe but they couldn't be more different. As far as he was concerned Apollo was way to uptight. The man nearly defined spit and polished. Every little thing had to be in its place and explained or Apollo would be driven mad by lack of order in his world.
But there was something on his scanners. Beyond the radiation that was being thrown off by the gas giant, besides the half dozen active volcanoes there was evidence of an artificial energy source. It was nearly masked by all the other nearby energy emissions, but it was definitely there and definitely artificial.
"Well I'll be damned" exclaimed Starbuck. "Do you think that it's cylon? Maybe a listening post"?
"It doesn't seem to have the usual signature of a cylon generator. And I also think you could also rule out traders or pirates. There's just no one to sell to or steal from out here."
The universe just wasn't fair. They were all going to be dead in a week or so and he was going to spend valuable time investigating strange energy readings on a barren moon when he could be in bed with Cass drinking some of the good stuff he had stashed away while playing cards with the squadron.
"Well lets get this over with and check it out"'
Twenty minutes later all thoughts of cards were driven from his mind.
" Holy frak!" Exclaimed both viper pilots. There was a hole in the moon spinning below them. Not just a crater, but a hole of perfect shape and cyclopean size. It measure more than a hundred miles across and was rimmed with city-sized machines of unknown purpose. The mechanisms appeared semi-organic. The depths of it were blacker than space and their scanners could not find the bottom. It all spoke of power and technology that never before had been imagined by man.
"It's amazing" Apollo's voice came over the com. "I think I see a place to land, maybe a landing strip and hanger. I'm sending you the co- ordinates."
The thought of descending to that strange and hidden place filled him with unease, but Starbuck would never let his friend take off alone into an unknown situation.
Starbuck sighed. "All right lets go see what we can see. But ah, lets not stick around to long if there's nothing interesting. If I stand Cassy up for this date I may not get a chance to make it up to her.
"I tell you father it was the most amazing thing I've ever seen" Apollo said to Commander Adamma. The fighter pilot was very animated, pacing back in forth. "The entire fleet could fit in this thing".
"But a number of our ships are not designed to land, the larger freighters and the one luxury liner especially. And of course the Galactica is incapable of such a feat. Besides, if you two detected it the cylons would also find it. It would just be a matter of time."
"No, I wasn't saying it was a good place to hide, just that it was huge" the younger man explained. "But the size wasn't the best part. As we approached the landing strip a nearby building scanned us. This ray of light played all over our ships. Starbuck started yelling that we should leave but I told him we didn't seem to be taking any damage so we should go ahead and land."
Starbuck half grinned in his sheepish 'I got my hand caught in a cookie jar' look and started to say something when Adamma cut him off. "No need to apologize captain. Had we been in contact at the time I would have ordered you two away at that moment. Please continue Apollo"
"Well we came in, taxied in to the hanger. When we set down a force field went up behind us and the entire hanger began to pressurize. We got out and looked around but the place was almost totally barren. The only thing in the entire hanger was a large set of what look like double doors at the far end, and a pedestal about ten paces back from the door. Now we couldn't get the doors to budge, but on the pedestal was an indentation that looked just like the medallion you wear around your neck".
The fleet would be here in a day and a half. Tigh had argued against it but Adamma had over ridden him. They were looking for a place to make a last stand, and this system; this moon was as good a place as any. Besides, the coincidence was simply too great. That the ancient symbol of his people should be found in so forlorn a place and not be a sign of hope was impossible. The commander of the fleet tried hard to keep his hopes from overriding his good judgment but he couldn't help but remember another time on another empty world, were amidst the ruins of an ancient human culture his medallion had opened other ancient doors.
With Starbuck and Apollo flanking him, Adamma said a silent prayer as he took the medallion from his neck and placed it in the indentation of the pedestal. 'Lords of Kobal, grant us a miracle in this our hour of greatest need'
The medallion fit perfectly into its niche with a faint 'click'
For a moment nothing happened, then two doors started to open noiselessly. Warm moist air washed into the hanger and a warm yellow light invited them to enter the singular room beyond. Adamma walked slowly forward and the two pilots followed with blasters drawn.
The chamber they entered was a dome of gigantic size, easily the size of a small town. In that great hall were, in ordered rows stretching off to the vanishing point, were potted plants. They all seemed to be of the same type, with broad leaves of deep green and streaks of dark purple. Another commonality was that they all had a flower budding at the zenith of their stalks. The buds seemed about the length of a mans forearm, but none of them were opened. An entire vista on the verge of blooming lay before them.
Set apart from the rest of the foliage, near the door, was a potted plant like the others, but it was positioned as if to greet them.
"What a strange green house" commented Adama. The place had a distinct feeling of peacefulness and welcoming. At the same time there was the hint of extreme age and at the same time, agelessness. Apollo and Starbuck had almost lowered their blasters because they could hear the plants welcoming them. The three men could feel the fear and toil of the last few months melt away.
Smoothly, almost without being noticed at first, the plant nearest the door started to open its flower. It unfurled its complex petals to reveal an orchid of stunning beauty and intricacy. It seemed like some vivid fractal pattern given life. When it was fully opened the flower slowly turned toward Adama.
"Father watch out"! Shouted Apollo, raising his blaster to fire.
"No Apollo, don't "! Yelled Adamma. "It doesn't mean any harm. Its… It's talking to me," the commander said in wonderment.
Then the flower began to glow. At first it was so faint that it was uncertain that it was happening at all, but it quickly gained in brightness till the three men had to shade their eyes to keep from damaging their retinas. The light then exploded silently out ward, washing around and even thru them. At the end it was so bright that the flesh of their hands were insufficient to keep it at bay.
And then…
And then they were standing in a room that was made of light. It was a place that seemed as bright as the light that had blinded them a second before, but now it seemed to only clarify. The distance to the walls were difficult to determine and it was even hard to tell were the floor ended and the wall began.
And then they were no longer alone. The new comer was clothed from head to foot in fine white cloth that shimmered and gave off light like the rest of the place they were in. Only the eyes were visible. Knowing eyes that seemed neither male nor female. It was a person the two fighter pilots had seen before.
"You. I know you! You're one of the people that saved us from Count Iblis!" Starbuck said in a horse whisper.
"I am a memory of that being, a though left behind to help you cross through the gate when you were ready." Said the person of light. Its voice was the voice of dozens of beings all talking at once, yet all talking in perfect harmony. Its voice seemed to bypass the ear and enter the brain by its own secret path.
"You were not meant to go home so soon, but you have had your own shadow to contend with. It has pushed you to this place far before your time." The dizzying voices of the light being intoned.
"Our shadow? You mean the cylons don't you?" asked Adamma. "But you said that this place was built for us? Why? What does it do? Help me to understand, please."
"We watched mankind slowly grow within its cradle, earth. We guided with unseen hands as humanity slowly trod its path, and stood as sentinel against foes that man could not even have guessed at. But we knew that one day the child would have to stand on its own and face the darkness that threatened us all.
"But we thought to our selves, ' What if the men should lose their battle against the shadow?' To insure against this we took some number of you from your home and brought you to this far side of the galaxy. You quickly grew in numbers and spread to nearby planets, becoming the colonies that you call your ancestral homes. We few were left here to watch over as best we could, but our numbers were only a handful and little direct action could be taken." The being seemed to slump a little at this point.
"To late we discovered that the dark foe had learned of our plan and sent their own emissary to thwart us and destroy you. The dark ones took a man from earth at this time. He was person of great guile and even greater ambition. They gave this twisted soul powers that you could not guess at then set him loose upon humanity from time to time for their own brutal purposes. It was this man that the darkness sent to destroy your colonies. It was this agent of evil's hand that guided those that crafted the first cylon intelligence. He saw to it that the machine intelligence was imprinted with his own personality and wit. Yet, so great was his cunning that we did not guess at his being here until the cylons had grown into an empire."
"When the danger was finally espied, it had grown to great for we that remained. When the cylons destroyed the colonies, we sent word to our brethren begging for help, for it seemed that all would be lost in this half of the galaxy. They replied that no helped could be spared, for the long awaited conflict had finally struck. The great war between light and dark that we had been preparing for thousands of years had come and no resources could be spared. The only option left to us was to slowly, quietly guide you and your fleet to this place so that you might find some help among your own people."
"A short time ago the great war came to an end, and in a manner none could have guessed. The Great creator, the father of the children of the light and the dark appeared amidst the battle and gathered his children onto himself and took them beyond the stars of this galaxy to dwell with him in peace and wisdom. He came to us here as well in this far away place. We
could not refuse his call.".
"But fear not. The portal to man kinds birth world remains intact and ready. Fly your fleet into the great rift of this moon. This great hole will be transformed into a gate way to a higher dimension, a place that those on the other side of the galaxy use to transverse the gulf between the stars. Keep your ships close together listen for a beacon. Stay near this beacon and in time someone will come to lead you home. Good luck to you all…. My children.
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A few of the captains had come close to mutiny. The idea of flying a fleet of starships, many thousands of people strong, into some bottomless hole at more than 5 miles a second seemed to be beyond madness. Even those most loyal to Adamma agreed at first, and even they had strong reservations. The others agreed only after being taken on a tour of the instillation on the mysterious moon. There were no other visions from the bizarre orchids. What remained however was sufficiently strange and impressive that the rest of the captains finally relented and agreed to put their trust in the old man. Of course it helped that by this time Adamma had taken on an almost prophet like aura. He was a man of great faith in his religion, had talked with angel like beings now on more than one occasion, and of course he had seen them all through more close shaves than any of them could count.
"Commander, I still have one reservation," intoned the captain of the hydroponics ship. "What's to keep the cylons from using this gateway once we have gone through?"
"The gateway is as much alive as machine. I was assured that the cylons would not be allowed passage. They should not be able to use it without its permission. If they should find a way to actually force the issue the instillation will self-destruct. The point is moot however. After a closed examination of the gateway our scientist believe we lack the firepower to destroy it. We are just going to have to trust to the angels on this"
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Ivanova was bored. It was glorious. No assassination attempts. No alien invasion. No diplomatic Gordian knot to untie, just the simple tedium of a duty shift on the command deck. A entire shift, even an entire day without some harrying emergency?! She allowed herself a little smile. Perhaps she would take a long bath when she was done here, have a glass of wine and finish that book she had been working on.
"Commander, sensors are showing what looks like a fleet of ships preparing to come through the jump gate! The lead ship is more that twice the size of an earth cruiser! Configuration is not recognizable. The gate is moving to maximum separation. Jump gate is active!"
'Oh well, so much for a quiet afternoon.' Thought the commander.
"Scramble all fighters! Station defense grid and weapons on stand by. Comm, I want a channel opened with that lead ship now! And alert the captain. Stay frosty and stay clear everyone. Remember, we beat the Shadows. Everything else is just a walk in the park."
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Captain Sheradin stood in the docking bay awaiting their new visitors. Susan remained on the control deck to keep an eye the rest of this unexpected fleet, but Zak was here with two contingents of security. One of those was in plane view and the other was well hidden among the shipping containers and superstructure. These people hadn't made any aggressive moves, but after the Shadow war it was hard to take anyone at face value.
He had talked to them over the com just an hour ago. Despite their stories strangeness, it did have the ring of truth to it. The Shadows and the Vorlons had waged a war spanning hundreds of thousands, perhaps even millions of years and had used technologies and powers that even now most races failed to understand. They had slowly woven the potential for psychic powers into the DNA of several races over the last few thousand years just in preparation for this last battle.
The Vorlons had secluded an entire human culture on the far side of the galaxy and placed a sign over them that read, "In case of emergency break glass". A damned cold-hearted thing to do as far as he was concerned. At least they had managed to bring their wayward flock home.
The newcomers shuttle settled into place and presently its hatch opened. Out walked three men, one oldster in a black robe trimmed in silver and two more in what appeared to be some sort of military uniform. Mid thirties maybe? Well they seemed human enough.
Now they were closer and the older man was addressing him. "You are Captain Sheridan? Greetings. I am Commander Adama."
Sheridan studied the older mans face a moment before answering. It wasn't just the snow-white hair that made him look old. His face was a series of creases and wrinkles carved as much by care and hardship as age. He could not help but compare his face to a picture of an old American president, Abraham Lincoln.
"Yes, I'm Captain Sheridan."
"And you are of earth?"
"Well we're have something of a disagreement with the current regime back home, but yes, I was born on earth."
The two soldiers let out a great sigh as if they had been holding their breath since leaving their shuttle. They wooped for joy, grabbed each other in a great hug and clapped each other on the back. Their elder grabbed Sheridan's hand in a surprisingly strong handshake. His face was split in a great smile and, yes there was a tear in his eye.
"Captain, we have been looking for someone like you for quite some time. It is very, very good to make your acquaintance!"
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The next few weeks were full of bustle and work. The new arrivals began spending time on the station. A small percentage of people from each of their ships were allowed 'shore leave' for forty-eight hours at a time. Although they were refugees and had left most of their property back on their lost colonies, what they did possess had value simply for its novelty, even if a given item had no other economic value. For a time the economy of the station hummed and small swarm of shuttles buzzed between the fleet and Babylon 5.
Sheridan proposed that Commander Adama settle his people on a planet at the edge of human space. The place had been officially declared an earth colony just prior to the death of president Santiago. Only a small contingent of scientists had ever lived there, and they had been recalled when Clarks dictatorship had begun to clamp down. Because it was inside human space any alien ships that attacked the new arrivals would face the wrath of both earth cruisers as well as the white stars at Sheridan's command. A near earth normal world far enough from the action to be safe but still out of bounds to other races. And best of all, the whole thing would stick in Clarks craw. Sheridan smiled to himself whenever he imagined the shouting fit the little tyrant would have when he heard about it.
The briefing on the newcomers' ships and technology was coming up in ninety minutes. After the technical stuff was out of the way he would ask Adama to join him in freeing earth. His unexpected ships would certainly through off earth dome for a while. He should remind Garibaldi to show about half an hour before hand. The ex-security chief could be late to staff meetings on occasion and if Adama and his colonial warriors were to join him in freeing earth they would need a complete intelligence breakdown of the situation.
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Garibaldi was being lied to. These Colonials kept saying that they had never heard of poker before getting here, yet here was this guy, Starbuck, with a big pile of credits and an even bigger shit-eating grin. It was somehow even more annoying that the fighter pilot managed to sustain said grin while chomping away on a truly noxious smelling cigar. The annoyance's two friends, what were their names?… Jolly and Boomer? They appeared to be breaking even but still managing to have a good time.
Londo was not having a good time. The Ambassador had lost almost as much money as he had but seemed even more upset about it. But then Londo always seemed to use more words than a human would find necessary. He was a man of great ambition, appetites and gestures, but he also a very skilled politician and he could hide his true aims under all that verboseness when he wanted to. Garibaldi knew that Londo enjoyed this type of carousing perhaps even more than most people, but he was a good enough detective to realize that Centari was probably here to learn a little more about these people from the other side of the galaxy.
"Great maker! These cards are cursed. I should have a priest come and exorcise the demons from them. You know Mr. Starbuck," he said wagging a finger "I am having a harder time from one moment to the next believing that you have never heard of poker before twelve days ago." He growled. After scowling at his hand a little longer he finally gave up the ghost. "Bah! I fold"
The Cheshire grin grew a little wider. "What can I say Ambassador? I'm just a naturally quick study when it comes to the finer cultural arts".
Jolly and Boomer chuckled a little. Garibaldi guessed that they had lost a few hands to Starbuck in their own version of cards and were getting some pleasure in seeing someone else take it in the shorts for a change.
While Londo got up to refresh his drink, Starbuck took two cards. The other Viper pilots took three cards each. Garibaldi, the dealer, took two. That meant Boomer and Jolly had started with a pair and were playing the long odds. It was probably down to Starbuck and himself. Still, Lennier…
The Mimbary cocked his head to side, thinking. "I will take one card".
One card? Was his hand that hot or was he just naïve and shooting for the moon? No, not naïve. Lennier wasn't a regular gambler but he wasn't stupid. Still waters running deep and all that. Besides, He had heard about that card game Londo and Lennier had played in the zokolo a while back. It was certain that he was here gathering intelligence on the newcomers just like Londo. But he also had the feeling that Lennier was also here to keep an eye on the Centari Ambassador, make sure that the older man played fair. Garibaldi shivered. Sneaking cards with an ambulatory reproductive organ gave a whole new meaning to the phrase 'dirty cards'.
Raises were made and met. Jolly bowed out. He had gained nothing with his three cards and saw no need to throw money away. "All right boys" he said. "Time to show 'em to the world. Jolly."
"Two pair. Two's and Threes"
Starbuck shifted his cigar in his mouth, his smirk working around the smoldering weed. "Three of a kind" he said laying out three nines.
Finally Garibaldi had something to smile about. "Three ladies".
All eyes turned to Lennier. "I have five cards of successive denominations, a straight"
Starbuck removed his cigar for the first time in several minutes as he frowned at his cards. Finally betrayed by lady luck. Londo chuckled softly.
The roguish Viper pilot quickly rebounded. "Well Ambassador, I guess that just can't win them all eh?"
"Yes, yes." Londo nodded, half mocking and half sage. "This I have learned all to well"
Garibaldi's Comm beeped at him. A reminder that he had 20 minuets to get to the briefing. "Well gentlemen, its been a slice but I've got a revolution to go help plan. See you all later"